Scheduling Regulated Deficit Irrigation with Leaf Water Potential of Cherry Tomato in Greenhouse and its Effect on Fruit Quality

The tomato cultivated surface is one of the most important surfaces in the world. This crop needs a sufficient and continuous supply of water during vegetative growth. Therefore, production may be at risk in warm and water-scarce areas. Therefore, the implementation of irrigation alternatives such as regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is of great importance to reduce the use of water and improve the production of the quality of tomatoes. The objective of this work was to evaluate the deficit irrigation scheduling using plant water status as a tool in deficit irrigation. Experimental design was a randomized design with four replications per treatment. Two irrigation treatments were applied: Control (125% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc)) and Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI). This latter treatment considered different threshold values of midday leaf water depending on crop phenological stage. No differences were observed in yield, with RDI treatment being more efficient in the use of irrigation water than the control. Besides, RDI tomatoes presented, in general, greater weight, size, Total soluble solids (TSS), sugars, antioxidant activity, lycopene, β-Carotene, and redder color with more intense tomatoes flavor. Finally, it might be said that RDI strategy helped to reduce 53% of irrigation water and to improve the nutritional, functional, and sensory quality of tomatoes.

[1]  J. P. Zoffoli,et al.  Eco-physiological response, water productivity and fruit quality of sweet cherry trees under high tunnels , 2021 .

[2]  Á. Carbonell-Barrachina,et al.  Physicochemical, Volatile, and Sensory Characterization of Promising Cherry Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Cultivars: Fresh Market Aptitudes of Pear and Round Fruits , 2021, Agronomy.

[3]  Junliang Fan,et al.  Responses of growth, fruit yield, quality and water productivity of greenhouse tomato to deficit drip irrigation , 2021 .

[4]  D. Niyogi,et al.  Physiological responses of orange trees subject to regulated deficit irrigation and partial root drying , 2021 .

[5]  M. Vásquez-Murrieta,et al.  Bioactive compounds in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) variety saladette and their relationship with soil mineral content. , 2020, Food chemistry.

[6]  M. Cano-Lamadrid,et al.  Long-Term Correlation between Water Deficit and Quality Markers in HydroSOStainable Almonds , 2020 .

[7]  M. Bacanlı,et al.  Lycopene as an antioxidant in human health and diseases , 2020 .

[8]  Shaozhong Kang,et al.  Responses of water accumulation and solute metabolism in tomato fruit to water scarcity and implications for main fruit quality variables , 2019, Journal of experimental botany.

[9]  Pradeep Kumar,et al.  Deficit irrigation in tomato: Agronomical and physio-biochemical implications , 2019, Scientia Horticulturae.

[10]  A. J. Meléndez-Martínez,et al.  Yield response to regulated deficit irrigation of greenhouse cherry tomatoes , 2019, Agricultural Water Management.

[11]  W. Willett,et al.  Food in the Anthropocene: the EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems , 2019, The Lancet.

[12]  A. Abouabdillah,et al.  Assessment of sustainable deficit irrigation in a Moroccan apple orchard as a climate change adaptation strategy. , 2018, The Science of the total environment.

[13]  J. Cebolla-Cornejo,et al.  Influence of controlled deficit irrigation on tomato functional value. , 2018, Food chemistry.

[14]  S. von Tucher,et al.  Quantification of sugars and organic acids in tomato fruits , 2018, MethodsX.

[15]  F. Bitton,et al.  Water Deficit and Salinity Stress Reveal Many Specific QTL for Plant Growth and Fruit Quality Traits in Tomato , 2018, Front. Plant Sci..

[16]  C. Stinco,et al.  Effect of the fruit position on the cluster on fruit quality, carotenoids, phenolics and sugars in cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.). , 2017, Food research international.

[17]  Michel Génard,et al.  Model-Assisted Estimation of the Genetic Variability in Physiological Parameters Related to Tomato Fruit Growth under Contrasted Water Conditions , 2016, Front. Plant Sci..

[18]  F. Peng,et al.  Growth, yield and fruit quality of cherry tomato irrigated with saline water at different developmental stages , 2016 .

[19]  Mahesh Kumar,et al.  Influence of growth stage specific water stress on the yield, physico-chemical quality and functional characteristics of tomato grown in shallow basaltic soils , 2015 .

[20]  M. Plazas,et al.  Characterization of composition traits related to organoleptic and functional quality for the differentiation, selection and enhancement of local varieties of tomato from different cultivar groups. , 2015, Food chemistry.

[21]  Mehmet Turan Ayseli,et al.  Characterization of the most aroma-active compounds in cherry tomato by application of the aroma extract dilution analysis. , 2014, Food chemistry.

[22]  M. Drake,et al.  Consumer attitudes and preferences for fresh market tomatoes. , 2014, Journal of food science.

[23]  J. González,et al.  Estrategias de riego deficitario controlado en el cultivo de tomate de industria , 2013 .

[24]  F. Hernández,et al.  Potential of Spanish sour–sweet pomegranates (cultivar C25) for the juice industry , 2012, Food science and technology international = Ciencia y tecnologia de los alimentos internacional.

[25]  M. R. Granados,et al.  Measurement and estimation of plastic greenhouse reference evapotranspiration in a Mediterranean climate , 2010, Irrigation Science.

[26]  Á. Carbonell-Barrachina,et al.  Volatile compounds of traditional and virus-resistant breeding lines of Muchamiel tomatoes , 2009 .

[27]  C.‐H. Chang,et al.  Study on lycopene and antioxidant contents variations in tomatoes under air-drying process. , 2007, Journal of food science.

[28]  L. G. Vaqué.  “Las nociones 'consumidor medio' y 'miembro medio de un grupo particular de consumidores' en el Reglamento n° 1924/2006 (declaraciones nutricionales y de propiedades saludables en los alimentos)” , 2007 .

[29]  Á. Carbonell-Barrachina,et al.  Analysis of flavor volatile compounds by dynamic headspace in traditional and hybrid cultivars of Spanish tomatoes , 2006 .

[30]  V. Martínez,et al.  Effect of salinity on growth, mineral composition, and water relations of grafted tomato plants , 2004 .

[31]  Mario Dadomo,et al.  Effects of environmental factors and agricultural techniques on antioxidantcontent of tomatoes , 2003 .

[32]  E. Yılmaz.  The Chemistry of Fresh Tomato Flavor , 2001 .

[33]  K. J. Fisher,et al.  Growth, Yield, and Postharvest Attributes of Glasshouse Tomatoes Produced under Deficit Irrigation , 1996 .

[34]  C. Berset,et al.  Use of a Free Radical Method to Evaluate Antioxidant Activity , 1995 .

[35]  M. Nagata,et al.  Simple Method for Simultaneous Determination of Chlorophyll and Carotenoids in Tomato Fruit , 1992 .

[36]  B. Myers.  Water stress integral-a link between short-term stress and long-term growth. , 1988, Tree physiology.